Co-owner Sue Larson, right, pours some wine for customers Ryan Kroening and his wife Sarah Saturday afternoon at Lil' Ole Winemaker Shoppe in Wausau. The winemakers are one of several local beverage producers that will be featured at the Artisan Beverage Celebration Sunday in Rosholt.
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ROSHOLT – Serving beer at a church picnic is an ordinary thing in Wisconsin.

But Kozy Yak owner Rich Kosiec never was a person to think along ordinary lines.

Kosiec long thought that Rosholt needed a festival to celebrate all the local beer and wine found in central Wisconsin. So when a church picnic had an opening for a new idea, Kosiec jumped on it.

"They pretty much said, 'OK, go do it,'" Kosiec said.

The Kozy Yak will host the first Artisan Beverage Celebration on Sunday at the Saint Adalbert Parish Picnic in Rosholt. The festival will feature eight different local beverage makers, including beer from Kozy Yak, Rosholt; Central Waters Brewing Co., Amherst; O'so Brewing Co., Plover; Stevens Point Brewery; and Great Dane Pub and Brewing Co. in Wausau.

But what separates ABC from other local festivals is its inclusion of wine: Lil' Ole Winemaker Shoppe in Wausau and Mountain Bay Winery in Hatley will join Kozy Yak's own wine label, Fresar.

Festivals offer local wine and beer makers a chance to raise awareness about their brands and, particularly at a church festival with a diverse group of people, offer a taste of their products to those who might not already be converts to local brew.

And that works both ways. Alan Lemanczyk, who is beginning the process of taking over chairing the church picnic this year for his father, Jim Lemanczyk, said he expects ABC will draw people who might not otherwise attend church festivals.

"That's exactly what we're trying to do," Lemanczyk said. "We're trying to offer something new and exciting to bring new people in."

Sue Larson, co-owner of the Lil' Ole Winemakers Shoppe on Jefferson Street in downtown Wausau, said she and her husband, Brian, attend festivals and events several times per year. Attending those festivals serves two purposes; not only can potential customers sample the products before they buy, but they also get to know the people making the wine, an advantage large retailers and winemakers rarely, if ever, enjoy.

Many of the people who purchase wine from the Wausau shop also make their own, and rely on the couple for advice and encouragement.

"When they come in, we can answer questions and walk them through the process," Sue Larson said. "They know they can just pick up the phone and we will help them."

Festivals also give the couple an opportunity to check out wine from other makers, something they don't often get a chance to do while running their business.

Organizers have one more hope for the festival: That it will draw people to Rosholt itself and help promote the area.

"We're trying to promote more of our local businesses," Lemanczyk said. "We want to slowly add things to the church picnic over time to get a fresh draw, but we still want to promote the local area."

B.C. Kowalski can be reached at 715-345-2251. Find him on Twitter as @BCreporter.